Rangebound Nifty holds 25,900 while broader markets shine
Welcome to Aftermarket Report, a newsletter where we do a quick daily wrap-up of what happened in the markets, both in India and globally.
In our latest episode of In The Money by Zerodha video series, we explore where trade ideas really come from: observation, data, research, conversations, and experience, and introduce a simple framework to move ideas from vague intuition to clear, testable hypotheses.
Bringing this closer to real trading, we discuss how to find ideas using charts, data visualisation, research papers, books, blogs, and trading communities, while also highlighting why blindly copying popular strategies can be dangerous.
Finally, we talk about crowding risk, why most professionals never reveal the last-mile details of their strategies, and how to turn borrowed ideas into something robust and testable for your own trading.
Market Overview
Nifty opened with a 56-point gap-up at 25,923, extending the previous session’s positive momentum. The index remained firm through the morning, trading with a mild upward bias and gradually moving higher to test the 25,970–25,990 zone around mid-day as buying interest stayed intact at lower levels.
However, the second half saw a clear loss of momentum. Post 1:15 PM, Nifty slipped sharply from the highs and drifted lower through the afternoon, briefly dipping below the 25,900 mark around 2 PM. A recovery attempt followed, but it remained choppy and lacked follow-through. Nifty eventually closed near 25,935.15, ending almost largely flat on the day and highlighting a narrow, volatile, two-sided session where early strength faded into profit-taking.
Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global risk appetite, ongoing Q3 earnings, and domestic cues.
Broader Market Performance:
The broader market had a bullish session today. Of the 3,269 stocks that traded on the NSE, 1,924 advanced, 1,240 declined, and 105 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Nifty Media was the top gainer today, up 2.40%, while Nifty Pharma was the top loser, down 0.36%. Overall, 9 sectors closed in the green, and 3 sectors ended in the red.
Here’s the trend of FII-DII activity from the last 5 days:
Change in OI for the day
The following is the change in OI for Nifty contracts expiring on 17th February:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 26,000, followed by 26,200, indicating potential resistance at the 26,000 -26,100 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 25,500, followed by 25,900 & 25,800, suggesting support at 25,800-25,700.
Note: OI is subject to multiple interpretations; however, generally, an increase in Call OI indicates resistance in a falling market, while an increase in Put OI indicates support in a rising market.
Source: Sensibull
Tijori is an investment research platform that has constructed niche indices for various themes and sub-sectors. They help you understand the market performance of narrow slices of the market. You can also track the Promoter buying and other interesting stuff, like Capex activity by the companies in the Tijori App’s idea dashboard
What’s happening in India
The Indian rupee strengthened by 9 paise to close at ₹90.57 against the US dollar, supported by positive domestic equity cues and a softer dollar. Dive deeper
BSE reported a nearly three-fold jump in consolidated profit to ₹602 crore in Q3, driven by robust equity derivatives trading, listings, and mutual fund transactions. Total revenue surged 61% to an all-time high of ₹1,334 crore, marking the exchange’s 11th consecutive quarter of record performance. Dive deeper
Ceigall India secured a ₹1,700 crore contract from Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd to develop a 220 MW solar project integrated with battery energy storage system(BESS). The project was awarded through a tariff-based competitive bidding process. Dive deeper
Marico announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Marico South East Asia Corporation, signed definitive agreements to acquire a 75% stake in Vietnam-based beauty and personal care company Skinetiq for ₹262 crore. Dive deeper
Textile stocks, including Gokaldas Exports, KPR Mill, and Pearl Global, declined up to 6% after Bangladesh secured a preferential trade deal with the US with exemptions on select textiles and garments made with US-sourced materials, raising competitive concerns for Indian exporters. Dive deeper
India is in talks with Brazil, Canada, France and the Netherlands to jointly develop supply chains for critical minerals such as lithium and rare earths, aiming to reduce dependence on China. Dive deeper
Cholamandalam Financial’s Q3 profit rose 27% to ₹1,386 crore year-on-year, driven by growth in retail financing and asset quality improvements. Dive deeper
Samvardhana Motherson’s Q3 profit rose 16.5% on strong auto demand, with revenue and margins supported by higher volumes and operational efficiencies. Dive deeper
The RBI has raised the collateral-free loan limit for micro and small enterprises to ₹20 lakh, aiming to improve access to formal credit for smaller businesses. Dive deeper
Titan reported a 60.8% surge in consolidated net profit to ₹1,684 crore in Q3 FY26 from ₹1,047 crore a year ago. Revenue jumped 43.3% to ₹25,416 crore while EBITDA rose 62.1% to ₹2,713 crore, driven by strong performance across jewellery and watches segments. Dive deeper
Eicher Motors reported a 21.4% increase in consolidated net profit to ₹1,421 crore in Q3 FY26, up from ₹1,171 crore in the same quarter last year. The Royal Enfield maker’s revenue rose 22.9% to ₹6,114 crore from ₹4,973 crore year-on-year, reflecting strong demand for its premium motorcycle portfolio. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
Brent crude rose to $69.3 per barrel, extending gains for a third session amid persistent US–Iran tensions and shipping warnings in the Strait of Hormuz, despite ongoing talks. Dive deeper
Gold slipped below $5,050 per ounce but stayed near an over one-week high as markets awaited key US jobs and inflation data for cues on the Federal Reserve’s rate path. Dive deeper
Honda Motor’s Q3 operating profit plunged 61.4% to 153.4 billion yen, marking the fourth consecutive year-on-year decline. The automaker’s automobile business turned loss-making over nine months due to US tariffs, weak EV market conditions, and one-off costs, including asset write-downs. Dive deeper
Eli Lilly announced the acquisition of Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4 billion in cash, gaining access to technology that enables patients’ cells to generate therapies internally without extraction. The deal marks the latest in a series of acquisitions by the US drugmaker to diversify its portfolio beyond its blockbuster obesity drug franchise. Dive deeper
UK retail sales grew 2.3% year-on-year in January, the fastest pace since August and well above expectations, as spending rebounded after a weak holiday season. Dive deeper
Japanese equities hit record highs, with the Nikkei rising 2.3% and Topix up 1.9%, driven by expectations of fiscal stimulus and tax cuts following Prime Minister Takaichi’s election victory. Dive deeper
The offshore yuan strengthened to around 6.9 per dollar, near a 34-month high, after Chinese regulators urged banks to limit excessive exposure to US Treasuries. Dive deeper
Amazon is planning to launch an AI content marketplace through its cloud arm AWS where publishers can sell content directly to AI developers, potentially alongside services like Bedrock and Quick Suite. Dive deeper
Management chatter
In this section, we highlight interesting comments made by the management of major companies and policymakers from the Indian and Global Economies.
Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary of India, on the country’s energy import strategy:
“What I can say firmly and confidently is that, whether it is the government or indeed our business, at the end of the day, national interests will be the guiding factor for us in our choices.”
“Our approach is to maintain multiple sources of supply and diversify them as appropriate to ensure stability, the more diversified we are in this area, the more secure we are.”
“Our foremost priority is to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers to ensure they receive adequate energy at the right price and through reliable and secure supplies.” - Link
Sandeep Poundrik, Steel Secretary, Government of India, on EU carbon tax impact and support for steel exports:
“With the European Union’s CBAM and tariffs, quotas and other challenges, exports will remain a problem and we will have to take action.”
“India’s steel exports will continue to be impacted by the European Union’s carbon tax and import quotas.”
“We will take steps to help the sector.” - Link
🧑🏻💻Have you checked out The Chatter?
Every week, we listen to the big Indian earnings calls—Reliance, HDFC Bank, and even smaller logistics firms—and copy the full transcripts. We then remove the fluff and keep only the sentences that could move a share price: a surprise price hike, a cut-back on factory spending, a warning about weak monsoon sales, or a hint from management on RBI liquidity. We add a quick, one-line explainer and a timestamp so you can trace the quote back to the call. The whole thing lands in your inbox as one sharp page of facts you can read in three minutes—no 40-page decks, no jargon, just the hard stuff that matters for your trades and your macro view.
Go check out The Chatter here.
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Calendars
In the coming days, we have the following significant events, quarterly results, and corporate actions:
That’s it from us for today. We’d love to hear your feedback in the comments, and feel free to share this with your friends to spread the word!